Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Bernanke to succeed Greenspan as Fed chairman

President Bush [yesterday] nominated Ben S. Bernanke, a senior White House adviser and a highly regarded academic economist, to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Bernanke, 51, will assume the most powerful economic post in the United States -- and arguably the world -- with a promise to continue the basic policies of a man who achieved a nearly mythic reputation during 18 years at the helm of the economy...Mr. Bernanke's nomination was in many respects the economic equivalent of Mr. Bush's nominating John Roberts for chief justice of the Supreme Court: a candidate with sterling academic credentials, no taint of cronyism and a sphinx on key political issues.

"Ben Bernanke is the right man to build on the record Alan Greenspan has established," Mr. Bush said in a brief statement at the Oval Office with Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Greenspan at his side.

Mr. Bernanke noted that the Fed would "continue to evolve" in the years ahead. But in a bid to soothe anxieties in financial markets, he emphasized his intention to preserve "continuity."

"My first priority will be to maintain continuity with the policies and policy strategies during the Greenspan years," Mr. Bernanke declared.

Reactions thus far are overwhelmingly positive. Even Democratic stalwart Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, hardly one to support Bush's nominees without a fight, has already come out with a favorable response: "We need a careful, non-ideological person who understands that the Federal Reserve's main job is to fight inflation and Ben Bernanke seems to fit that bill."My initial reaction is similarly favorable (although I reserve the right to add nuance to it going forward).Maybe Bush is going through a good-bad alternation for appointees and nominees. Where Michael Brown and Harriet Miers are BAD, John Roberts and now Ben Bernanke are GOOD. Regardless, it's good to see that Bush didn't succumb to cronyism here. With the health of the American (and global) economy at stake, he seems to have picked a stable rudder in the mold of Greenspan himself.**********Around the blogosphere:In the middle, Dave Price of Dean's World "welcome[s] our new fiscal overlord". Well put.Dave Schuler has a good round-up at The Glittering Eye.The Wall Street Journal has some reaction from "economist bloggers".Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution lists (and analyzes) five of Bernanke's "major contributions," including inflation targeting.On the right, Professor Bainbridge: "When President Bush nominated his personal lawyer to the SCOTUS, some wags wondered whether he would nominate his personal banker to replace outgoing Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. Instead, the White House has put forward Ben Bernanke, who is a very credible choice. Indeed, in many respects, Bernanke is everything Miers isn't."Celebrity-economist (and trickle-down blowhard) Larry Kudlow is similarly impressed (see also here).So is libertarian Virginia Postrel at Dynamist.Think Progress, however, is rather skeptical. So, too, is DHinMI at The Next Hurrah.Also on the left, Steve Soto at The Left Coaster asks a great question: "Yikes, did Bush just make a reasonable choice for a change?"Yes, it seems so. Obsidian Wings agrees, adding: "I think we have Harriet Miers to thank for this appointment. When the Bush administration decides to appoint someone who is eminently qualified and will win widespread support, it can do a very good job."However:Back on the right, Outside the Beltway expresses ideological concern: "Bernanke is seen as being more moderate than Greenspan and that could be a bad thing. The appeal of Greenspan is that he was seen as an inflation hawk to the point that he'd bring about a recession to control inflation. A more moderate chairmen [sic] might be seen as being more willing to use monetary policy to affect the business cycle vs. simply wanting to reign in inflation."Which, in my view, would seem to recommend him. What's wrong with a moderate guiding the Fed?See also Brad DeLong ("Bernanke is a demand-sider"), Daniel Drezner, Bradford Plumer, The Volokh Conspiracy, and the ever-sensible Justin Gardner at Donklephant.

9 Comments:

Kudlow is as usual clueless and cheering the president:

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/10/why_oh_why_cant_7.html

This isn't a comment wither way on the nomination, simply that Kudlow hasn't studied the man. And whatever Bush does is good while those liberals bad mouth the dollar and the economy bringing them down the same way bad press destroys the effort in Iraq.

For those who want to know specifically what the chairman thinks about infklation, rather than swallowing the helocopter remark, Thoma has a referance to a paper about half way down this post.

Evidently the new chairman is an advocate of "inflation targeting" or at least has sympathy for the concept.

Again as has been stated here before many political blogs are economic in focus. They are more influential in their realm than the "generic" political blogs you link to. A serious attempt at a middle way requires *knowlegeable* or at least educated discussion of things like tax reform.

By choosing the superficial commentators who could pass a econ 101 test, or even provide a ridimetary definition of keynesian or monetary or supply side or top down, is to imply that economics is a trivial issue.

Your choise of blogs indicates that you really have no interest in the kind of serious discussion necessary to shift this country. Instead discussion is put in a partisan format with ther opinion of "experts" deemed irrelevant.

"14 species of large animals capable of domesitcation in the history of mankind. 13 from Europe, Asia and northern Africa.None from the sub-Saharan African continent. " Favor. And disfavor.

They point out Africans’ failed attempts to domesticate the elephant and zebra, the latter being an animal they illustrate that had utmost importance for it's applicability in transformation from a hunting/gathering to agrarian-based civilization.

The roots of racism are not of this earth.

Austrailia, aboriginals:::No domesticable animals.

The North American continent had none. Now 99% of that population is gone.

4. Chinese/egyptians - this may be separated into the eastern and western worlds 5. Romans - they answer to the egyptians 6. Mafia - the real-world interface that constantly turns over generationally so as to reinforce the widely-held notion of mortality 7. Jews, corporation, women, politician - Evidence exisits to suggest mafia management over all these groups.

Many Muslims are being used like the Germans and Japanese of WWII::being used to hurt others and envoke condemnation upon their people.

They can affect the weather and Hurricane Katrina was accomplished for many reasons and involves many interests, as anything this historical is::1. Take heat off Sheenhan/Iraq, protecting profitable war machine/private war contracts2. Gentrification. New Orleans median home price of $84k is among the lowest in major American cities, certainly among desirable cities.

Our society gives clues to the system in place. We all have heard the saying "He has more money than god." There is also an episode of the Simpsons where god meets Homer and says "I'm too old and rich for this."

This is the system on earth because this is the system everywhere.god is evil because of money.

I don't want to suggest the upper eschelons are evil and good is the fringe.

But they have made it abundantly clear that doing business with evil (disfavored) won't help people. They say only good would have the ear, since evil is struggling for survival, and therefore only the favored could help me.

The clues are there which companies are favored and which are disfavored, market domination being one clue, but they conceal it very hard because it is so crucial.

I offer an example of historical proportions:::

People point to Walmart and cry "anti-union".

Unions enable disfavored people to live satisfactorly without addressing their disfavor. This way their family's problems are never resolved. Without the union they would have to accept the heirarchy, their own inferiority.

Unions serve to empower.

Walmart is anti-union because they are good. They try to help people address and resolve their problems.

Media ridicule and lawsuits are creations to reinforce people's belief that Walmart is evil (disfavored).

The middle class is being deceived. They are being misled into the unfavored, and subsequently will have no hope.

Amercia is a country of castoffs, rejects. Italy sent its criminals. Malcontents.Between the thrones, the klans and kindred, they "decided" who they didn't want and acted, creating discontent and/or starvation.The u.s. is full of disfavored rejects. As far as the Rockafellers and other industrialists of the 19th century go, I suspect these aren't their real names. I suspect they were chosen to go and head this new empire.

Jesus Christ is a religious figure of evil. These seperatist churches formed so they could still capture the rest of the white people, keeping them worshipping the wrong god.And now they do it to people of color, Latinos and Asians, after centuries of preying upon them.

Since Buddism doesn't recongnize a god, the calls are never heard, and Chinese representation is instead selected by the thrones.It was set up this way. Perhaps dyanstic thrones had a say, but maybe not.Budda was the Asian's Jesus Christ::: bad for the people. "They came up at the same time for a reason."

Simpson's foreshadowing::Helloween IV special, Flanders is Satan. "Last one you ever suspect.""You'll see lots of nuns where you're going:::hell!!!" St. Wigham, Helloween VI, missionary work, destroying cultures.Over and over, the Simpsons was a source of education and enlightenment, a target of ridicule by the system which wishes to conceal its secrets.

Jews maim the body formed in the image of "god", and inflicted circumsision upon all other white people, as well as the evil that is Jesus Christ. I believe Islam is the one true religion, and those misled christians and cooperating Jews who attack "god's" most favored people will pay for it dearly one day.